


No Other Shade of Blue

by Pyro__Jo



Category: Legacies (TV 2018)
Genre: Angst, Eventual Happy Ending, F/F, Fluff and Angst, Pining
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-09
Updated: 2021-03-09
Packaged: 2021-03-15 00:02:14
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,258
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29924874
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Pyro__Jo/pseuds/Pyro__Jo
Summary: The sound of Josie's laughter drifted on the breeze towards Hope. The sight of Josie took Hope's breath away. She was a vision of beauty. The afternoon sun reflected off of her brown locks just right, shining and shimmering and magnifying the intensity of the warmth in her deep brown eyes. A crown on woven violets rested on her head, which Hope felt was very fitting. Every queen deserved a crown.*Or the one where Hope and Josie are in love but the universe is against them. Hope had one summer with Josie, one magnificent summer before everything went to shit. Hope never quite lost feelings for Josie and through the years, those feelings bloomed and blossomed. Fate had a different idea. Fate always had a different idea.
Relationships: Hope Mikaelson & Josie Saltzman, Hope Mikaelson/Josie Saltzman
Comments: 10
Kudos: 45





	No Other Shade of Blue

**Author's Note:**

> this story does have minor depictions of blood/fighting. i didn't do into a lot of detail but if that bothers anyone, just know that that's what this story involves. also, josie and lizzie aren't part of the gemini coven in this story. they are not siphoners, just regular witches. this was originally supposed to be a one-shot but i got carried away and decided to split it into two parts. i'm not really sure what this is but i've had it sitting in my drafts for several months so i decided to just post it. enjoy!

Hope Mikaelson stood inside an abandoned apartment building. It used to be a beautiful meadow, filled with flowers of the brightest colors and towering trees. It sat just outside of the bustling city of New Orleans, a little piece of heaven on earth, an escape from the chaos of the outside world.

She kicked a broken piece of brick across the floor, sending a rat scurrying from its hiding spot to a hole in the wall on the other side of the room. She sank to the floor and surveyed the room, remembering when it had been an open space. The last time she had been there was over half a century ago.

Hope hadn't even become a fully activated tribrid at that point yet. She had just finished her first year of college and Josie had just graduated from high school. She had come to New Orleans to visit Hope for the summer. Hope had finally gathered the courage to tell Josie how she felt about her, that she'd had a crush on Josie when she was a young teenager that never quite went away. Things escalated quickly between the two of them and Hope fell hard, harder, and more deeply in love than she ever thought possible. They were nearing the end of the greatest summer that Hope had ever experienced. She had never felt freer than when she was with Josie.

She closed her eyes and leaned her head against the wall, recalling what had happened leading up to the day she had fled New Orleans. The memory was still as fresh in her mind as if it had happened yesterday.

* _60_ _years ago_

The sound of Josie's laughter drifted on the breeze towards Hope. The sight of Josie took Hope's breath away. She was a vision of beauty. The afternoon sun reflected off of her brown locks just right, shining and shimmering and magnifying the intensity of the warmth in her deep brown eyes. A crown on woven violets rested on her head, which Hope felt was very fitting. Every queen deserved a crown.

Josie extended her hand towards Hope, beckoning her to link their hands. Her hand fit in Josie's as if they were made for each other. Josie beamed at Hope, her smile so genuine and infectious that Hope couldn't help but smile back.

She led Josie over to a weeping willow tree and settled beneath it, taking in the beauty of the meadow and contentedly listening to Josie talk. She glanced over at one point and got lost in the way Josie's eyes danced as she spoke excitedly about her future.

"Marry me," she murmured, her voice barely above a whisper. She stroked her thumb over the back of Josie's hand absentmindedly.

Josie stopped mid-sentence, gaping at Hope. "W-what?"

"Marry me, Josie. We could start a life together. I love you and I want to be with you. We could live here," she gestured to the surrounding area before continuing. "I know you said you've always loved New Orleans and this is such a perfect place to live. It's not too close to the city but still has the charm of New Orleans. I know we're young but we don't have to get married right now if you don't want to or if you need some time or whatever…" She trailed off as she realized she was rambling. Hope gazed at her before brushing a strand of hair from Josie's face and letting her hand linger a few moments before she frowned and withdrew her hand. "Wait, I almost forgot-" she reached up and unclasped a necklace from her neck and pulled a ring from the chain before shifting and kneeling in front of Josie on one knee. She took Josie's hand and looked back up at her, suddenly feeling a wave of shyness wash over her. "Will you marry me?"

Josie looked at Hope in stunned silence for a few seconds before enthusiastically nodding. "Yes, yes of course I will!" She allowed Hope to slip the ring on her finger before she examined it. "Was this your mother's?"

Hope nodded, a soft smile passing over her lips at the mention of her mother.

"It's beautiful, Hope. I love you."

Hope leaned forward, capturing Josie's lips with her own in a sweet kiss.

When they broke apart, Josie grinned wildly. "My family is coming to New Orleans tonight. I can't wait to tell them," she bounced excitedly before sitting back on her heels.

Hope grinned. "We should probably get back. Aunt Freya is probably dying to know the details."

_*Present day_

A loud car horn sounding from the street yanked Hope from her memories. She swallowed, tasting salt. She hadn't even realized she was crying. She wiped the tears from her face and stood, brushing the dust from her pants.

She trudged back in the direction of the home she had just bought. It was brand new and in pristine condition but Hope didn't care. It felt just as empty and lonely as any other place she had owned in the past few decades felt.

* _60_ _years ago: Hope and Josie announce their engagement_

Josie descended the stairs, a living depiction of a walking ray of sunshine if Hope ever saw one. Her smile was radiant and her eyes sparkled with absolute joy and love as her gaze came to rest on Hope. She was dressed in a simple yellow sundress and her hair fell in loose curls around her shoulders.

"You look beautiful," Hope breathed out, gently taking Josie's hand and brushing a soft kiss across the back of her knuckles.

Josie blushed a pretty shade of pink and bashfully tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "And you look incredible." Her eyes reverently took in Hope's appearance.

Hope had decided to put a little more effort into her appearance than she normally did since they were going to have dinner with Josie's family. She was dressed in a lacy black dress that stopped just above her knees paired with a black leather jacket that made the whole outfit come together nicely without being too over the top. Her auburn hair was curled in loose waves and hung around her shoulders, a few strands perfectly framing her face. She pulled Josie in closer, pressing a chaste kiss to her lips before withdrawing a couple of steps and walking in the direction of the door, still holding Josie's hand.

Josie followed with a giggle, excited to tell her family the news about her and Hope.

They arrived at the restaurant soon and ordered, falling into easy conversation about their summer adventures and catching up with Lizzie's escapades with some Italian guy she had met when she was with Caroline for the summer in Europe.

Disaster struck when Josie showed off her ring and animatedly told her father that she was engaged to Hope.

His face contorted and he shook his head vehemently. "No, absolutely not! You are not marrying a Mikaelson! Danger follows her like she's some sort of supernatural hazard magnet. She will get you killed. If you marry her, I will have no choice but to no longer claim you as my daughter. Forget about help with college tuition. I want you to have a happy life, not one where you're constantly running from danger."

Hope bowed her head. When she looked up, there were tears in her eyes. "Dr. S, I know I know you think I don't deserve Josie but I would never do anything to intentionally put her in danger. She means everything to me. I love her more than anyone in this whole world and I promise to work every day to be better, to be the kind of person that she deserves."

Lizzie looked from Josie's crestfallen expression to Hope's slumped shoulders and then finally at her father. "They're happy, Dad. When was the last time you saw Josie this happy?"

Alaric looked uncertain for a moment before he seemed to recall something. He looked at Hope as he spoke. "If you can answer this question honestly, then I'll consider giving you two my blessing."

Hope didn't like the look in his eyes as he said that. She could already tell she being set up for failure but she straightened her shoulders and looked at him directly. She felt Josie's hand slip into hers under the table, lightly squeezing, attempting to give her reassurance.

"Why aren't your parents still here? Or your uncle? Or Landon? Face it, Hope. Danger follows you everywhere you go and I want my daughter to stay alive and well. I want her to live a full and happy life. You say you want the same? Prove it. If you love her, let her go. I can get her compelled to forget so she's no longer in pain. Let her have a chance at a normal life. She deserves that after all she's been dealt in life."

Hope's chest constricted and she felt like she couldn't breathe. Tears fell freely from her eyes. She tried but she couldn't swallow past the giant lump in her throat. "It's Josie's choice," she finally managed to choke out.

"No! You can't take away my choice! Hope is the best thing that has ever happened to me. I-" Her speech was interrupted as Alaric motioned to someone across the room.

"I'm sorry, sweetheart. I saw the ring on your finger when you came in and put two and two together so I texted a friend of mine. I hoped that you would agree willingly but I guess we'll have to do this the hard way."

Hope didn't even get to process his words before Josie's hand was ripped from hers and Josie was vamped out of the restaurant in the blink of an eye.

"What are you going to do to her?" Rage blurred Hope's vision and all she could see was red. Customers turned to stare at the disruption but she didn't care.

Lizzie stared disbelievingly at her father. "What are you planning to do to her? She deserves a choice! She's an adult and like it or not, she didn't come here to ask your permission to marry Hope. She came to share news with you that should make any parent happy for their child. She finally found someone who makes her happy, who encourages her to be a better person, who is always there for her, and who never gives up on her. She found that connection with someone that some people spend an entire lifetime trying to find and you just ripped it away from her." She paused and her glare solidified, becoming icy and chilling, even from an onlooker's perspective. "You said you would no longer claim her as your daughter if she married Hope. Well, I hope you're happy because congratulations, Dad. I no longer claim you as my father." With that, Lizzie turned and left the restaurant.

Alaric looked a little dazed and shocked as he turned back to look at Hope.

"At one point, I thought of you as a father figure in my life. Sure, your decisions were questionable at times but I knew you always had your kids' best interests at heart. But this-" she paused gesturing around the table, signaling what had just happened, "this is too far, even for you. There's no good reason for this. Josie is an adult and is capable of making her own decisions. You're taking that choice away from her under the guise of having her best interest at heart when it really comes down to your utter disdain and contempt for all things Mikaelson. Don't think for one second that I won't fight with my dying breath to bring Josie back. If she no longer loves me or wishes to marry me, that is her choice and I will respect her wishes but make no mistake-" her voice dropped to a deadly tone and she gripped his shirt, yanking him forward till they were eye to eye, "it will be her choice and her choice alone. If you weren't her father, I wouldn't hesitate to kill you right now."

Alaric chose the wrong time to get snarky, seemingly forgetting that she still had a grip on the front of his shirt. He sneered at her. "You won't find her. She's under a complicated cloaking spell. Even if you did find her, she won't remember you. And yeah, maybe I never really did care for any of you Mikaelsons but forgive me for not wanting my daughter to marry the Great Evil's daughter. Death follows you like a curse and deep down, you know it. Are not those who never learn from history doomed to repeat it? How many more people have to die at your hand before you get it, Hope? You're a monster, no matter how hard you try to dress it up and act like a decent human. You're no better than your father."

Hope snarled and shoved him back in his seat. Her eyes flashed yellow and she thought briefly about how much prison time she would be sentenced to if she decided to rip his head off in the middle of a restaurant. She settled for kicking his chair towards a wall and muttering a spell under her breath, throwing him into said wall and stalking out of the building.

_*Present day_

Hope awoke with a start, sitting up and rubbing her eyes. Being back in New Orleans brought a rush of memories. She decided to go on a walk to try to clear her head.

She walked down the French Corridor, thinking back over the times she had spent there after Josie was taken from her. Lizzie had become one of her closest friends and worked tirelessly trying to help Hope find her and restore her memories. Unfortunately, Alaric had made sure that she wouldn't be found.

_*55 years ago_

Hours turned into days. Days turned into weeks. Weeks turned into months. Months turned into years and soon it had been five years since Josie had been ripped from her life. Hope sank into the couch that sat in the main room of the Mikaelson compound and buried her head in her hands, tangling her fingers through her hair.

Lizzie plopped down beside her. "What can I do to help?"

Hope barely looked at her. Her shoulders were sagging in a defeated slump and she looked like she hadn't slept for days. She lifted one shoulder in a half-hearted shrug. "I don't know what to do anymore."

Lizzie studied her more carefully. "When was the last time you slept?" She wrinkled her nose as she leaned a little closer to Hope. "Or showered?" She made a gagging sound.

Hope didn't bother with a reaction to the comment. "What's the point anymore? She's gone, Lizzie. Everyone keeps telling me to move on but she was the best part of me. I can't love anyone as I loved her. I-," her voice broke and she turned her face slightly away from Lizzie. She inhaled and exhaled deeply, letting oxygen fill her lungs and calm her before she continued. "I just want to know that she's happy. I want to know that she's being taken care of, even if it can't be me taking care of her. She deserves to have someone looking out for her." She shook her head and sighed. "I don’t know. Maybe your dad was right. I could never truly be enough for her. I could never give her what she deserved but I loved her- I still love her." Hope bowed her head.

"Snap out of it, Mikaelson! My sister loved you and she would not want to see you in this state. Get up, go take a shower, get a meal, and then we can talk." Lizzie shoved her off the couch.

Hope grumbled from the floor but complied. She came back about thirty minutes later, appearing much cleaner. "What are your plans for tonight?" She rubbed a towel over her wet hair while she waited for Lizzie to answer.

"I don't know. Nothing really. I was just going to hit the books with you and see if we could find anything new."

Hope looked at the floor guiltily. "You should go out. Call MG and go out. You two have been together forever but when was the last time you did anything fun? Go on, have some fun. I'll be okay by myself. I don't want to hold you back from your own life. You deserve to live."

"I don't want to just leave you. You shouldn't be alone right now. I can call MG and we can have a movie night together if you want to take a break from all this for a little bit if you're tired."

Hope shook her head. "No. Go on, have fun. I'll be fine, I swear. I really just need a nap," she smiled tiredly at Lizzie, hoping she'd take her up on the offer. She loved that Lizzie was so dedicated to helping her but she really wanted her to have her own life. She didn't think it was fair to expect Lizzie to put everything that was important to her on hold just because it felt like her own world had simultaneously stopped spinning and started spiraling out of control.

Lizzie studied her, looking for signs that Hope was lying and when she found none, she smiled brightly and stood from the couch. "Ok, I'll give MG a call."

Hope watched Lizzie's face as she spoke on the phone with MG for a few minutes before she hung up and grabbed her jacket. "Happy looks good on you, Lizzie. I'm glad you have MG," she smiled past the sadness as she remembered how happy Josie made her. Josie had made her feel all the emotions she could see plainly displayed on Lizzie's face, just from one short phone call. A pang of longing struck her and she quickly turned towards the kitchen so Lizzie wouldn't see the shift in her expression.

"Me too. Thanks for pushing me to do this, Hope."

Hope nodded. "Go on, have fun. I'll see you when I see you."

"Bye, Hope."

_*55 years ago_

Over the next few months, Hope pushed Lizzie to live her life and get out while Lizzie struggled to pull Hope from her slump. One night, she finally managed to drag a reluctant Hope out to a bar for the evening because in Lizzie's words, she was tired of Hope's brooding and Hope needed to get laid. Trouble ensued as Lizzie drank shot after shot while Hope barely touched her drink.

"Ooooh, what about her? She's not completely repulsive," Lizzie slurred in Hope's ear, pointing not so discreetly in the direction of a blonde girl that had just entered the bar.

Hope slapped the back of Lizzie's head. "That's Jade," she hissed.

"Ow, what was that for?" Lizzie rubbed her head and pouted.

"Jade, as in Josie's ex, Jade. You didn't recognize her?" She turned around when Lizzie didn't answer, only to find Lizzie downing another shot. She rolled her eyes and nudged Lizzie, who stumbled into some big burly guy standing next to her.

He snarled and slugged a guy walking by him. This started an all-out brawl.

Hope finally managed to drag Lizzie out of the bar and into a dimly lit side street. She turned to inspect her friend, gasping at a jagged cut running down the blonde's arm. She allowed her canines to grow and bit into her own hand before extending it toward Lizzie. "You'll heal quicker," she said in reply to Lizzie's grimace.

Lizzie didn't argue any further and drank a little until the wound on her arm faded.

"Well, look who we have here," an unfamiliar voice filled the darkness and footsteps sounded as a man emerged from the shadows.

Hope gave him a once over and rolled her eyes, shepherding Lizzie in the other direction.

There was a whoosh and he was suddenly standing in front of them. "Aw, you didn’t think you could get away that easily did you, Hope Mikaelson?"

Hope became uneasy in his presence but she didn't let it show on her face. "I don't know you so just tell me what you want and save the dramatics for someone who gives a shit."

"Oh, how rude of me. I do apologize. My name is Everett. You may remember my brother, Emmett. You know, the one you brutally slaughtered for doing nothing other than wanting to rid the world of half-breeds such as yourself. You see, many think he took things too far." Everett took a step closer, an evil glint flashing in his eyes. "I, on the other hand, don't think he took it far enough." He paused and smirked. "What's that pretty little brunette's name that you've been pining over for the past five years? Josie, isn't it?"

"Don't you dare touch her, you filthy varmint," Hope snapped, her lips pulled back in a snarl.

He smirked.

Hope lunged forward but he was quicker. She felt a searing pain in her chest and looked down, her vision growing blurry. She heard Lizzie cursing beside her and felt the blonde collapsing into her. She mustered the last bit of strength she had and tried to pull the dagger from her chest.

Everett let out a dark chuckle. "It's drenched in wolf's bane. I thought it'd be a nice touch, make your last few living moments pure torture."

Hope wrapped her fingers around the handle as her eyelids drooped heavily.

_*Present day_

Hope absentmindedly rubbed a hand over her heart where the knife had been plunged. Though her skin had healed when she resurrected and she had no scar, she still remembered the feeling, even centuries later. She closed her eyes briefly, trying not to let the memory of what happened when she woke up resurface. Her mind played it back against her will anyway.

_*55 years ago: Lizzie and Hope are captured_

Hope blinked against the light pouring in from a window somewhere in the room. Bars ran across the window and upon further inspection of the room, she realized she was in a cell of some sort. A glance down at her wrists made her realize they were shackled together with heavy chains. They burned her skin when she pulled against them. An insatiable hunger rushed through her, the desire to taste blood gripping her in a relentless chokehold. Her ears picked up on a steady thumping noise and she followed it to the edge of her cell. Peering into the next cell, she saw Lizzie, who by the sounds of it was alive. Her brow furrowed in confusion before she remembered that Lizzie drank her blood before they were both brutally murdered. She was pulled from her musings as Lizzie shot up, gasping for air as though she had been submerged underwater for too long.

"Mikaelson! Where are we and why do I feel like ripping into someone's throat and draining them of their blood right now?" Lizzie also had shackles binding her wrists together.

"Oh, good, you two are awake. I was beginning to wonder if I had just murdered you for nothing," Everett's voice rang out before he appeared shortly after, dropping a couple of blood bags in front of each girl. "Apologies for the cuffs, Hope. You can never be too careful anymore, right? And to answer your question, blondie, you're a vampire now. You and your sister both, actually." 

"What did you do? Where is she?" Hope slammed up against the bars, growling and all but ripping the door off its hinges and tearing into the smirking vampire on the other side. 

"I didn't do anything, my dear. You, however, helped turn your sweetheart into something she never wanted to be. Congratulations, you're no better than your family. You Mikaelsons act so high and mighty, like you're above the laws of the universe or something but the reality is that you're no better than wild animals. I want you to see that, to feel the shame of something you've done forever."

"You think I don't feel shame for what I've done? Do you think I don't carry each person's death that I'm responsible for on my shoulders with me every single day of my life? You think I like being feared because of my name?" Hope's voice cracked, the only sign of emotion she gave as she continued speaking. "If you love justice as you claim, let Lizzie go. Let Josie go. They have nothing to do with your personal vendetta against my family. They're innocent. Do to me what you must but leave them out of it."

"Au contraire, mademoiselle. They may not be important in the grand scheme of my hatred for your family but they do hold a special place in your heart, which makes them play a very important role in my vendetta. Emmett may have started this whole revolution but he didn't have the mental capacity to construct a long-term plan and follow through with it. I've been sitting on this plan for years so let me assure you that I've thought about the significance of every person involved. Dr. Saltzman wanting to be rid of his daughter's girlfriend by using compulsion was just a bonus that I took great delight in following through on, by the way."

Hope said nothing and kept her head down, not wanting to give him the reaction he so desperately wanted but her fury sparked and burned through her and she couldn't keep from imagining thousands of different deaths for the snake of a man standing in front of her. She thought for a few moments before speaking. "Your plan has one major flaw." She cocked an eyebrow at him and smirked. "It all depends on me actually transitioning into a full tribrid. As it stands right now, you have nothing. Lizzie and I are both in transition. Nothing is stopping us from simply choosing death."

"Of course I can't force you to drink blood." He turned towards the doorway that he had entered in and emitted a shrill whistle. Moments later, a vampire lackey vamped in with Josie in tow. "I bet she can though." He winked and turned to Josie, fixing his gaze on her eyes. "Treat this girl as if you've been friends with her for years. Convince her to drink a blood bag and I'll consider you well on your way to earning my forgiveness for inconveniencing me with struggling when I wanted to question you."

Hope watched helplessly as Josie nodded in understanding. She hadn't seen Josie since that night in the restaurant years ago. Even though she knew she shouldn't, she felt a rush of butterflies as brown eyes met blue for the first time in years.

"Well, I'll leave you to it." Everett clapped his hands together and let out a dark chuckle. "I'll be back to check on your progress in a few hours." With that, he turned and sped out the doorway.

Josie smiled at her and Hope nearly melted right away.

In the cell next to her, Lizzie scoffed. "Geez, keep it together, Mikaelson. See if you can at least get her to let us out of these cuffs."

Josie turned to Lizzie, surprise evident in her eyes. "Lizzie? What are you doing here?"

"Pretty much the same thing as you, I think," Lizzie grumbled and huffed out a sigh. "Could you get me out of these cuffs, sis? My wrists hurt." She pouted but Josie simply looked disinterested.

Hope watched as Josie tilted her head and inspected her. She suddenly felt self-conscious under the intense gaze. Finally, Josie stepped forward and unlocked the door. She reached in and pulled Hope out of the cell. Hope stumbled forward, a little dumbstruck.

"If I'm to treat you as a friend I've known for years, then you sitting in a cell in cuffs won't do."

Lizzie made an indignant noise from the confines of the other cell. "Um, excuse me? Hello? Yeah, hi, it's just me. You know, your SISTER of twenty-three years?"

Josie glanced at her sister, then back at Hope. Hope shrugged. "I go where she goes. Lizzie comes with us."

That seemed to settle any dispute in Josie's mind and she unlocked Lizzie's cell, then her shackles.

Lizzie huffed in annoyance. "Good to see you too, sis. Glad to know your priorities are in the right order." She flexed her wrists and glanced at Hope.

Hope looked at Josie like a sad puppy. Her eyes scanned the brunette's body, checking for signs of injury. Her fingers twitched at her sides, itching to reach out and cup the girl's face but she knew Josie didn't know her any more than she knew a random stranger passing by on the street. "You look good," she whispered, not really intending for Josie to hear it but she whipped her head around and stared intently at Hope.

"Why do I feel like I know you?" Josie looked at Hope, confused.

Hope stared at the floor, unable to meet Josie's eyes. The pain she had felt from her ex-fiancé no longer remembering her was only amplified since becoming a vampire.

Josie shrugged off her confusion. "Everett seems to think I can convince you to become a vampire so would you like a pros and cons list? I don't want to force you to do something you don't want to do but it's not all bad." She continued, rattling off a whole checklist about being a vampire.

Hope shook her head fondly. It was indeed a very Josie way of saying things; she wasn't demanding but she made her points well and Hope couldn't help but fall for her charming personality and infectious smile all over again.

"Drool much?"

Hope didn't break eye contact with Josie until she felt a slap on the back of her head. "Dude, ow!" She glared at Lizzie, who merely shrugged and smirked at her.

"So tell me again why we can't just take the blood bags and run?" Lizzie questioned.

"You want to leave your sister here with that psychopath?"

"Well, no. I want to bring her with us. She's been compelled to try to get you to drink a blood bag. He failed to compel her to keep us here. Just drink the blood bag and let's get out of here."

Hope flicked her gaze to Josie. "How much of a chance do we really have of getting out of here in one piece?"

Josie scrunched her eyebrows together. "Uh, I'd say we have a fifty-fifty shot. It would depend on when we tried it." She glanced at her wrist, checking her watch as she spoke. "If we hurry, we could get out before all the nightwalkers can come looking for us. We have a better shot in the daylight." She paused and looked at Hope as if willing her to read her thoughts.

Hope got the message. She reached for her blood bag and glanced at Lizzie. "Are you sure you want this?"

Lizzie nodded. "I have more to contribute to this world. Besides, I can't leave MG all sad and alone."

They made it to the first floor without incident. Trouble started when Hope accidentally tripped an alarm as she opened the door. They were immediately surrounded by vampires. Josie and Lizzie were able to keep the vampires at bay for a few minutes but they were wearing out quickly.

Hope briefly contemplated what to do, not really wanting a blood bath but not seeing another way of ending radicals such as her captors. She had never liked the idea of killing anyone, no matter how evil they were but that side of her brain seemingly turned against her with Josie standing beside her. Without another thought, she launched into the vampires around her. Her wolf canines cut down one after the other and soon, she and the twins were the only ones left standing. She clutched Everett's shirt in her fingers, saving his death for last.

"Do it," he spat at her. "Look around you, little girl. You've already become your father and not even an hour into completing your transition."

Hope snapped out of her fight or flight response and noticed all the bodies lying around. She stepped back, shaking her head, fear and shame taking primary control of her. She looked at Lizzie and Josie, her eyes pleading with the latter to understand.

The twins surveyed the damage in silence.

Everett smirked. "I guess not getting the girl must be some sort of family curse."

Josie looked confused and Hope bristled.

He opened his mouth to speak again. The sickening sound of flesh ripping from flesh accompanied by a scream of agony sounded through the thick air.

"Hope, push him through the door!"

Hope's brain works on autopilot and she shoved the vampire onto the front porch, watching as his body spontaneously burst into flames.

Lizzie stared at the pile of ash on the ground before she threw his finger with his daylight ring still on it on top of the ashes. "Well, that was dramatic." She brushed her hands off against her jeans and turned back to Hope and Josie. "Are you two coming or are you just going to stand there with your mouths open all day?"

"Isn't there a spell to bring back her memories or to disrupt the compulsion or something?" Lizzie paced back and forth around the kitchen at the Mikaelson residence.

"Even if we do, what's to stop your father from getting her compelled to forget again? Or even worse, compelling her to marry someone else or something equally as appalling and horrible? Not to mention, reversing compulsion is excruciating, both physically and mentally." Hope paused and looked at Lizzie. "Is she happy? Has she been dating? Or at least moving on with her life?"

"I'm not having this conversation with you. You know what she would say if she could remember or even if she was given a choice to remember. You know she would tell you to undo the compulsion. She'd want to remember you, Hope."

Hope said nothing, studying the ground.

"Hope…" Lizzie trailed off, knowing the stubborn look in Hope's eyes all too well. "Don't do whatever it is you're thinking of doing."

"It will just keep happening, Lizzie. Your father hates me and will stop at nothing to keep us apart. At least right now, she has the chance to be happy with someone else of her own choosing. I'm going to go to Paris for a while. Davina and Kol said I could stay with them for a while. I can't stick around here and torment myself with seeing her every day. You'll make sure she's safe? That she's happy?"

"You stupid tribrid," Lizzie shook her head.

Hope had the audacity to gasp and appear offended at her friend's remark, which only encouraged Lizzie to continue.

"You're one of the smartest people I know while simultaneously being the stupidest person I know. You're willing to die for anyone you care about. You love deeply and you feel emotion with every fiber in your being…" Lizzie paused and waited for Hope to look up, "But you are so incredibly stupid sometimes. Like unbelievably dumb. Mind numbingly thick. Unbearably-"

"Gee thanks, Lizzie," Hope interrupted her. "Now I won't ever forget how dumb you think I am. Was this supposed to be a pep talk? Because it sucked. Don't ever become a motivational speaker."

"You're funny, Mikaelson. Don't try to distract me from my point. Josie was head over heels for you and if you think that running away just because things got too difficult for you is a good idea, then you've really learned nothing from your own life experiences. Remember how heartbroken you were when Landon used to take off with no explanation and no chance to try to talk things out? Imagine how Josie would feel if her memories came back and she realized you were here the whole time but you wouldn't fight for her."

"This is different! Landon didn't forget about me and I didn't forget about him when he left. Josie literally doesn’t even know my name. She doesn’t know that my blood is the reason she's alive. She doesn't remember that meadow on the outskirts of New Orleans is where I proposed to her. She doesn't remember our first date or our first kiss. She doesn't remember me. Her life is so much less complicated without me. She's had a tough life. She deserves something simple, something she doesn’t have to think about, something she just knows is true without having to overcomplicate it with me. Your dad is right, Lizzie. I'm a hazard. I bring danger but I also bring a shit ton of emotional baggage."

"That is the most bullshit I've ever heard come out of your mouth, Hope and I had to listen to you go around claiming Landon was your 'epic love' for far too long. Pull your head out of your ass and get your act together."

Hope shook her head and pulled a small bag of powder from her pocket. She blew a small amount into the blonde's face. "Sorry, Lizzie. My mind is made up on this one.”

Lizzie coughed dramatically a couple of times and collapsed.


End file.
